The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), through its trailblazing social development arm, the BPI Foundation (BPIF), has signed a transformative three-year agreement with the Lyceum of the Philippines-Davao (LPD), marking a significant stride toward financial enlightenment for the archipelago’s youth. Unveiled amid a ceremonial Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing that drew a constellation of institutional luminaries, this alliance kicks off with an ambitious first-year rollout targeting 1,000 eager students, arming them with the indispensable toolkit of financial acumen—from budgeting blueprints to investment insights—to navigate the treacherous tides of economic uncertainty. Pictured left to right in a tableau of collaborative fervor: BPIF’s Senior Program Manager Manolo Nava and Executive Director Carmina Marquez, flanked by LPD’s Chief Operating Officer and Vice President for Institutional Affairs Jason Barlan, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs Kenny James Merin, RPh, Ph.D., and Dean of the College of Accountancy, Business, and Management John Joseph Villotes, Ph.D. This isn’t merely a handshake; it’s a symphony of shared vision, echoing BPIF’s mantra of “Kasama Lahat sa Pag-Unlad” (Everyone Together in Progress), a clarion call to weave financial literacy into the fabric of Filipino lives, fostering resilient individuals who can weather personal storms and communal upheavals alike.
Carmina Marquez, the poised architect of BPIF’s social symphony, articulated the partnership’s profound ethos with unwavering clarity: “This initiative reflects our shared mission with Lyceum of the Philippines-Davao to empower the next generation through financial literacy. By instilling financial knowledge and promoting responsible financial behavior, we can help develop more resilient individuals and communities in Mindanao.” Her words resonate like a timely anthem in a region where Mindanao’s vibrant mosaic—home to 26 million souls across 27 provinces—grapples with disparities in access to economic opportunity, from the fertile cacao fields of Davao del Sur to the urban hustle of Davao City, the nation’s third-largest metropolis. LPD, a bastion of higher learning since its 2006 inception as a private non-sectarian university under the Lyceum umbrella, founded by José P. Laurel in 1952, stands as an ideal vanguard for this charge. With its sprawling 7.5-hectare campus located along the C.P. Garcia Highway in Buhangin, Davao City, the institution boasts over 10,000 students across more than 40 programs, including stalwarts in accountancy, business administration, and management—fields where fiscal fluency is not just advantageous but essential. Dean Villotes, whose Ph.D. in business underscores his stewardship of the College of Accountancy, Business, and Management, envisions the program as a catalyst for his charges: “Equipping our students with these skills isn’t optional; it’s the cornerstone of ethical leadership and sustainable prosperity in a global economy.”
The MOA ceremony, a gathering that blended solemnity with optimism, unfolded in LPD’s administrative heart, attended by an august assembly of LPD brass—including other college deans whose domains span from aeronautical engineering to forensic science—and BPIF’s vanguard: Marquez, Nava, and Program Manager for Financial Education Gladys Malapo. Bolstering this academic alliance is BPI’s robust Davao leadership cadre, featuring Area Business Directors Jean Guirgen, Art Gerald Perez, and Audrey May Rodriguez, alongside a network of local branch managers whose on-the-ground expertise ensures the program’s seamless integration into the community. For BPIF, this marks yet another jewel in its crown of financial inclusion endeavors, building on a 2024 odyssey that touched the lives of 3.2 million nationwide through multifaceted programs that blended classroom curricula, digital modules, and community workshops. Established in 1978 as the philanthropic arm of BPI—the Philippines’ oldest bank, chartered in 1851 and a pioneer in Southeast Asia—this foundation has evolved into a powerhouse of empowerment, channeling resources toward education, the arts, and livelihoods, with a 2023-2024 budget exceeding PHP 200 million in grants and initiatives.
At the epicenter of this LPD collaboration lies BPIF’s flagship FinEd Unboxed program, a dynamic curriculum that demystifies the arcane arts of money management through interactive sessions, gamified apps like Breakthrough—a bespoke financial management tool that tracks spending patterns and simulates investment scenarios—and real-world case studies drawn from Filipino contexts, such as navigating remittances in OFW households or scaling micro-enterprises amid inflation’s bite. Tailored for college cohorts, the rollout commences with “Train the Trainers” modules, empowering LPD faculty like those under Dr. Merin’s academic affairs umbrella to cascade knowledge to students, ensuring sustainability beyond the three-year horizon. Imagine a freshman in BS Accountancy, once daunted by debt cycles, now wielding spreadsheets to forecast personal net worth; or a business major debating ethical investing in a seminar led by Nava, whose senior program management expertise spans arts-infused financial literacy pilots. By year’s end, these 1,000 pioneers—hailing from LPD’s diverse strands in humanities, STEM, and commerce—will emerge not just literate but liberated, poised to ripple positive change through Davao’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, where SMEs comprise 99% of businesses and youth unemployment hovers at 12%.
This Davao foray amplifies BPIF’s Mindanao momentum, following hot on the heels of a February 2025 pact with Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao (MMCM), the region’s inaugural academic ally, which mobilized “Train the Trainers” to seed financial wellness in 10 Davao communities, reaching 4,000 beneficiaries by 2026. Marquez’s vision there—”bringing financial literacy closer to communities in Davao”—mirrors the LPD thrust, underscoring a strategic pivot southward after northern strongholds like the 2023 endorsement by BSP, NEDA, CHED, PDIC, SEC, and IC for “Personal Finance 101 for College Students,” a nationwide blueprint shifting mindsets via HEI curricula. In Quezon’s Dumagat indigenous enclaves, BPIF’s 2024 sessions with ACEN taught budgeting amid ancestral lands; while a DSWD alliance digitized literacy for 4Ps families, embedding budgeting and investing amid conditional cash transfers under RA 11310. Nationally, BPIF’s 90,000-student reach across 60 public schools, bolstered by 94 donated computers to Muntinlupa institutions, illustrates a holistic tapestry: from Pagpupugay Scholarships honoring the kin of COVID frontliners (with May 2024 deadlines yielding hundreds of aid packages) to EstudyanTIPID’s animated journeys tracing Marla’s saga of needs-versus-wants epiphanies.
BPI itself, a 174-year titan headquartered at Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2 in Makati’s glittering Paseo de Roxas, anchors this benevolence with unassailable fortitude: a universal banking license from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas enabling deposits, lending, asset management, and beyond, all fortified by robust Tier 1 capital ratios and ironclad risk regimes. As the first bank in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, BPI’s legacy—forged during the Spanish colonial era—now pivots toward inclusive innovation, with digital wallets and AI-driven advisors democratizing finance for the 50% of Filipinos who are unbanked. Yet, as Marquez intones, true progress blooms from education: “We aim to foster a culture of financial wellness and help uplift the lives of many families and communities.” In Mindanao, where remittances account for 20% of GDP and durian exports reach PHP 30 billion annually, such programs could help stem the tide of 15% informal debt traps plaguing youth, thereby birthing a cadre of savvy entrepreneurs from LPD’s halls.
The LPD-BPIF synergy, signed under the watchful eyes of Dr. Barlan’s operational stewardship, transcends paperwork—it’s a beacon for Davao’s youth, where 40% of the 1.7 million residents are under 25, hungry for pathways beyond agrarian roots. Villotes’ College, a hub for BS in Accountancy and Business Administration majors in financial management or marketing, will pilot modules that blend theory with practice, including simulations of stock trades via Breakthrough and debates on sustainable investing amid climate-vulnerable Davao floods. Merin’s academic oversight ensures alignment with CHED standards, while Barlan’s institutional affairs lens eyes scalability—perhaps expanding to LPD’s junior college tracks in accountancy and humanities. Local BPI stalwarts, like Guirgen’s team, versed in Davao’s microfinance landscape, infuse sessions with a regional flavor, featuring case studies on cacao cooperatives or tourism booms following the post-Duterte surge in tourism.
As this partnership unfolds, it joins a chorus of BPIF triumphs: the 2023 “Personal Finance 101” MOA with regulators, targeting HEI mindset shifts; DSWD’s digital push for the 4Ps’ 4.4 million households; and even arts-infused pilots where Nava’s dual remit marries theater with thrift. For LPD students, the payoff is tangible: reduced financial anxiety, heightened entrepreneurial zeal, and communities fortified against shocks like 2024’s El Niño droughts. Marquez’s closing vow—”empowering the next generation”—rings prophetic, as BPIF’s 45-year arc from 1978 seed to 3.2 million 2024 touchpoints charts a course toward a “sustainable, inclusive, and financially well Philippines.” Dive deeper at www.bpifoundation.org, or trailblaze alongside on Facebook (@BPIFoundation) and Instagram (@bpifoundationinc)—for in Davao’s dawning light, financial wisdom isn’t inherited; it’s ignited, one empowered mind at a time.
